Headstock Decal

thegummy

DeeTee said:

My partscaster has a Mighty Mite neck that the previous owner stuck a Fender logo on. I don't like it. I hate that he put a Custom Shop logo on the back.

Thing is, it's already on there, and I'm not sure I could remove it without marking the headstock (it's satin).

At some point I'm going to get drunk with a sander and it's going to end badly.

I'd take a marked headstock over a fake logo every day.

imalrightjack

Interesting post. I bought a guitar made by RLP, Liverpool, and refinished it. It now has no headstock logo, which looks a bit odd to me. Looking to get some abalone dots on the headstock, so it’s not just blank.

thermionic

Devil#20 said:k

I've seen quite a few guitars for sale (exclusively fender style guitars) with Fender decals on the headstock but the ads clearly stating they are not Fenders and instead are partscasters.

Local facebook groups are full of this crap. They seem to think admitting it makes it less illegal.

Jalapeno

If you're doing a partscaster - be proud -make your own - Rothko & Frost decals are ace !

johnhe

I personally really, really dislike fake logos. But as for a personalised logo or blank headstock, I think that a personal logo probably looks best. But that’s purely a matter of taste.

MartinBush

My own view is that I like to see a logo of some sort on the headstock. I don't even mind if it says "Encore" and the personalised ones in this thread look really good. I think my eyes just expect to see some words.

I recall that there was a thread on here some time ago where someone built a partscaster and added a Fender decal. I think the reasoning was that the builder wanted to add it for his own reasons, had no intention of selling and didn't mind what others thought. 

Sarge

If I'm buying a branded guitar then I want the original branding/headstock logo so any future sales are easier.
If I'm restoring/refinishing a branded guitar I want the correct logo.

However when I'm putting my partscasters together, I don't want any logo at all because A: they're not branded and B: I quite like the mystique of a blank headstock. 

usedtobe

Jalapeno said:

If you're doing a partscaster - be proud -make your own - Rothko & Frost decals are ace !

Isn’t it only a Telecaster if its manufactured by FMIC...?

LastMantra

I don't like the look of a blank headstock. Just looks unfinished or something. Doesn't need to say anything in particular though. 

thegummy

Sarge said:

If I'm buying a branded guitar then I want the original branding/headstock logo so any future sales are easier.
If I'm restoring/refinishing a branded guitar I want the correct logo.

However when I'm putting my partscasters together, I don't want any logo at all because A: they're not branded and B: I quite like the mystique of a blank headstock. 

People putting their own name on there for a laugh or bit of fun is totally fine by me off course.

But if anyone is doing it with sincerity they should realise that fender etc. don't just buy three or four parts and screw them together.

Makes me think of when I've only ever built my own PCs and when I tell people they're amazed so I have to tell them it's just slotting together a few parts. I've known people, however, that happily leave the assumption that they're some kind of genius who's actually made it from scratch.

prowla

thermionic said:

Devil#20 said:k

I've seen quite a few guitars for sale (exclusively fender style guitars) with Fender decals on the headstock but the ads clearly stating they are not Fenders and instead are partscasters.

Local facebook groups are full of this crap. They seem to think admitting it makes it less illegal.

It means they are genuinely counterfeits!

The act of selling it with the fake logo is still illegal; however, it's unlikely that an individual selling a one-off would be prosecuted for it.

jaymenon

I bought a Partscaster on eBay for £200 delivered.

Didn’t like the maple fingerboard neck, so I bought a Dr Parts maple / rosewood neck, installed a cheap set of tuners.

Graphtech nut: £9 and it dropped perfectly into place without my having to do any sanding at all (amazing). The nut slots are at the perfect height.

Had an old Gotoh 510 tremolo that fit.

Scrapped the Wilkinson P90s - and installed a set of AlNiCo 2 P90s made in China with nickel silver bases - just £15.

...and it sounds and plays absolutely beautiful, as good as any of my significantly more expensive instruments. And the pickup blend pot is amazing.

I wanted to put a decal on the headstock - and I used a Fender one, purely because it cost me £3.50. (The personalised ones that I have purchased previously from Rothko & Frost in the past have cost me close to £12).

I don’t plan on selling it - but I rather suspect that if someone actually had a chance to play it, they would probably make me an offer for it :-)

https://i.imgur.com/AAQBKAP.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/HS6kXgT.jpg

SteveRobinson

Pitchforks at the ready lads

thermionic

I remember as a youngster, the shocking realisation that the guitarist in one of my favourite bands didn’t actually play a Fender Stratocaster, but something called a “Tokai Springy Sound”. WTF? So I fully approve of tongue in cheek homages on partscasters.

sbarker1978

maltingsaudio said:

Haven’t quite thought this through but here goes.

how important really is a headstock decal? My bitsa hasn’t got one yet, buying an endorsed neck may not arrive with the appropriate one on it , and of course you can buy whatever you want and apply it so looking for thoughts.

Huge opportunity to get creative on a blank headstock. Leaving it blank looks cheap & weird imo, so at least paint it if you don't want to use a logo. I dig the ones that are a play on the expected manufacturer's logo

Bridgehouse

prowla said:

thermionic said:

Devil#20 said:k

I've seen quite a few guitars for sale (exclusively fender style guitars) with Fender decals on the headstock but the ads clearly stating they are not Fenders and instead are partscasters.

Local facebook groups are full of this crap. They seem to think admitting it makes it less illegal.

It means they are genuinely counterfeits!

The act of selling it with the fake logo is still illegal; however, it's unlikely that an individual selling a one-off would be prosecuted for it.

No, but the site hosting the ad could be prosecuted, shut down and various other things for facilitating the sale of counterfeit items...

That's why they are a total no-no here. People may not realise it, but posting a partscaster with a branded logo (i.e. a counterfeit) could get us shut down.....

mikem8634

sbarker1978 said:

maltingsaudio said:

Haven’t quite thought this through but here goes.

how important really is a headstock decal? My bitsa hasn’t got one yet, buying an endorsed neck may not arrive with the appropriate one on it , and of course you can buy whatever you want and apply it so looking for thoughts.

Huge opportunity to get creative on a blank headstock. Leaving it blank looks cheap & weird imo, so at least paint it if you don't want to use a logo. I dig the ones that are a play on the expected manufacturer's logo

I agree, make it your own.

https://i.imgur.com/QVhc7Yp.png

My guess is this won''t be popular but I'm loving the process

Deadman

I like that @mikem8634 , I'd love to see what it would look like for real.

In the past I've used a computer graphics machine to cut out a stencil font and simply painted on. This was my 'Ashcaster' simply sprayed on in matt black, demasked and then (as it was obviously a relic) I masked around it and added some dyed lacquer to give the appearance of an aged waterslide:

mikem8634

That's really classy @Deadman. I'm really torn between something minimalistic like yours or the OTT type I posted above. It will be a series of waterslide decals applied to a black headstock and then buried under clear coat. I've got as far as painting the headstocks and dithering over the designs. Cheers for the thumbs up.

Deadman

I have to admit I was influenced somewhat by Nash guitars, mike @mikem8634 . I've done loads of waterslides, as long as they're going onto a clean (imporous) surface and they're left to dry for a good 24 hours they lacquer over well. Mist coats to begin with the lacquer mind. Build it up and don't go too heavy.